Jane Espenson Archives - Robot 6 @ Comic Book Resources

Comics sales | The bookstore chain Books-A-Million had an up year, and CEO Terrance G. Finley credited that in part to strong graphic novel sales, including The Walking Dead and kids’ graphic novels. [ICv2]

Digital comics | Wired runs down a handful of digital comics apps, noting both the pluses and the minuses of each one. [Wired]

Creators | Yehudi Mercado talks about his kid-friendly comic Pantalones, TX, which is filled with Saturday morning cartoon-style action, authority-questioning, and risky business: “I did purposefully envision Pantalones, TX as the anti-safety pad cartoon. I see my nieces and nephews growing up in a sheltered and sanitized environment, they don’t play outdoors at all. When I was a kid we shot fireworks at each other while playing in a bayou. I’m not saying that’s the right thing to do, but there should be a balance.” [Wired]

The webseries Husbands is a sitcom about two gay celebrities who get drunk, get married and decide they have to stick with it because, well, it’s the right thing to do. It’s new to me, but with guest stars like Joss Whedon, Nathan Fillion and Felicia Day, it has picked up a bit of nerd cred, so this should come as no surprise: Dark Horse has a Husbands comic in the works. The creative team includes Husbands creators Brad Bell and Jane Espenson (Bell also stars in the series) and artist Ron Chan. The six-issue series will be published digitally and priced at 99 cents per issue, and it sounds like it will diverge a bit from the show. Espenson told The Insider, “Our show is set in a marriage-equalized world, so it’s already got a hint of an alternate-universe thing going on, [b]ut the comic books are going to totally dive into a whole [alternate-universe] premise. So we’re going from genre-curious to full-on genre!”

The big announcement in last month’s Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Riley one-shot about the return of the Angel license to Dark Horse appears to have overshadowed anothercontroversy — namely, whether the character Riley Finn actually deserved his own issue.

For those unfamiliar with Buffy continuity, Riley was introduced in Season 4 as a teaching assistant at UC Sunnydale who led a double life as a drug-enhanced agent of the Initiative, the secret government organization dedicated to the capture of demons. To the displeasure of some fans, the wholesome Riley — some might say “vanilla” or “downright boring” — became Buffy’s boyfriend and, briefly, a member of the Scooby Gang. (Personal note: Professor Walsh aside, Riley may have been the worst part of the excruciating Initiative arc that dominated the season. Well, him, and Buffy’s maddening post-Angel self-esteem issues.)

The character left in Season 5, returning for just one more episode before re-emerging in Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season 8, the canonical comic-book continuation of the television series, where he was revealed as a double agent being used by Buffy to infiltrate Twilight’s organization. And then came the one-shot, which triggered enough grumbling that writer Jane Espenson — a fan-favorite writer of Buffy, Battlestar Galactica and Warehouse 13 — has taken to the Dark Horse website to defend Riley, and the one-shot.

“I hear that some of you are wondering why Riley Finn deserves a one-shot comic-book issue instead of Dawn or Xander or the deep, dark shadow under Spike’s left cheekbone,” Espenson writes. “The answer is simple: Riley wanted it more. He worked harder. He earned it.”

With tongue in cheek, she goes on to explain that not every character can withstand the rigors of a comic book one-shot — “There are no stunt doubles here” — or demonstrate the awareness required for the “highly technical” work. But Riley Finn, that wholesome boy from Huxley, Iowa, has mastered the art.

“This isn’t to say that the others aren’t excellent comic-book characters as well,” Espenson continues. “They obviously are. Xander has been turning in magnificent work despite the challenge of the eye patch, which has never, not once, migrated from one eye to the other between panels. […] And I think Warren’s work deserves special praise, as he is quite obviously the best skinless performer in comics today.”

The final story arc of Season 8, written by creator Joss Whedon himself, begins with Issue #36, in stores today.